Clasp.



J. 'EHMANN.

CLASP.

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 18, 1910.

1,022,663. f Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH COJWASHINGTON. D. c.

UNTTED TATES PATENT QFFTCE.

JACOB EHMANN, 0F ARLINGTON, NEW JERSEY.

CLASP.

To all whom 2'2? may concern:

Be it known that I, JACOB EHMANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Arlington, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain I1nprovements in Clasps, of which the follow ing is a specification.

This invention relates, generally, to improvements in clasps; and the invention has for its principal objects to provide a simple and inexpensive construction of clasp, which is strong and durable; to provide improved fastening or attaching means for securing the clasps to a garment; to avoid inadvertent detachment or disengagement of the clasp from a garment; to provide fastening means adapted to engage garments of different thicknesses with the same security; to secure a rigid relation of the jaws of the fastener with respect to each other, and to obtain other advantages and results as may be brought out in the following description.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of the several figures, Figure 1 is a side or edge view of my improved clasp, the fastening or attaching means being open; Fig. 2 is a view of the clasp from beneath; Fig. 3 is a plan of the clasp; Fig. i is a plan of the clasp fastening or attaching means; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical section of the clasp, with the fastener slide withdrawn, and Fig. 6 is a similar view with the said slide pushed part way in; Fig. 7 is a plan view illustrating a modified form of clasp, the spring jaws and slide being omitted, and Fig. 8 is a side or edge elevation of the same, partly in central longitudinal section; Fig. 9 shows a blank adapted to be bent into a still further modified clasp, and Fig. 10 is a side or edge view of such a clasp as formed, the spring jaws and slide being omitted.

In said drawings, 1 indicates a suitably formed button head forming part of the clasp, and 2 is a U-shaped fastener on one arm of which the button head is mounted and by which it is secured to a garment or the like. Said fastener consists of a strip of sheet metal bent into U-shape and having its edges bent at substantially right angles toward the inside of the fastener, as at 3. The flange or rib 3 around the edge of the fastener body-portion greatly stiflens the same against its arms spreading apart Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 18, 1910.

Patented Apr. 9,1912.

Serial No. 556,085.

under the strain of use, and furthermore forms a recess at the inside of the U-shaped body to receive the spring jaws 4, 0. These aws are formed by the ends or arms of a leaf spring which is doubled in U-shape and laid into the recess of the U-shaped body 6, being held in place by the marginal rib or flange 3. Preferably, teeth 7 and 8 are formed upon the opposite jaws 4 and 5 of the spring, said teeth projecting toward each other and being directed toward the closed end of the U-shaped spring.

Between one of the spring jaws, as 5, and the adjacent arm 0 of the body portion a slide 11 having a handle 12 which projects through a slot 13 in the body portion near its doubled end, and by which handle the said slide can be reciprocated from the outside. Said slide has at the middle of its side nextthe arm 9 of the body portion a protuberance 14;, and the said arm 9 has at its inner side next the slide a central longitudinal groove 15 which tapers or inclines in depth fro-1n its maximum at the end next the closed end of the fastener to nothing at the other end. The protuberance 14 runs in said groove 15, and when the slide 11 is drawn out, as shown in Fig. 5, said protuberance lies in the deepest end of the groove 15 and permits the spring jaw 5 to opentoward the adjacent arm 9 of the body 6. As the slide is pushed in, however, the protuberance 14 passes into a shallower part of the groove 15 and the spring aw 5 is crowded toward the other spring jaw 4, into gripping relation therewith. Preferably, pockets 16, 17 and 18 are formed in the bottom of said groove at its opposite ends and its middle, respectively, which serve as retaining means to maintain the protuberance 14:, when it slides into any one of them, against inadvertent slipping. It will be noticed also from an inspection of Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings, that the pockets 17 and 18 are of different depths, whereby the gripping action of the spring-jaws 4E and 5 can be varied, as will be evident, so as to adapt the clasp to be readily used with diflerent thicknesses of fabric. The pocket 16 also serves as a retaining means or stop for the reception of the protuberance 14: of the slide 11, so as to limit the return movement of the slide and prevent its separation from the remaining parts of the clasp when withdrawn into the position indicated in said Fig. 5.

A raised rib 19 upon the outside of the bottom arm 9, along its free end, stifl'ens and strengthens the same.

The button head 1 is adisk stamped out of sheet-metal, and having a central downward projecting boss 20 at its bottom with a slot 21 in the bottom of said boss. From the top arm 10 of the fastener body a stud 22 is stamped outward, said stud having a short shank 23 and an enlarged end 24; adapted to pass through the slot 21. The shank 23 is of a length about equal to the thickness of the metal of which the button head 1 is made, and adjacent to said shank the under edges 25, 25 of the enlarged end 24 slant outwardly upward, as shown in Fig. 1. After the said enlarged end 2% has been passed through the slot 21 of the button head, it is twisted until its said inclined lower edges 25, 25 wedge against the inner surface of the boss 20 and hold the head firmly to the fastener. Obviously, the enlarged-end of the stud 20 will not be twisted more than a quarter turn, and usually not so much as that, depending on the thickness of the metal in the button head 1.

In Figs. 7 and 8, I have shown a fastener body 26 having a button head 27 stamped out of one arm and joined thereto by a curved hook-like connection 23 at the edge of said head next the closed end of the body 26. After being stamped out, the head 27 is flattened and shaped larger than the hole left. by stamping it out, as shown in the drawings.

In Figs. 9 and 10 I have illustrated a fastener body 29 having the button head 30 attached to the extremity of one arm of the body 29 by a narrow neck 31, and which neck after the body 29 is bent in doubled or U-shape, is bent at its opposite ends to be fiat against the arm and head, with its middle part forming a stud 32 between the arm and head, as clearly shown in Fig. 10.

Other means for connecting the button head to the fastener, such as employing an eyelet instead of the stud 22, can be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as it relates to the means for fastening or attaching the button to a garment, and obviously said fastening o-r attaching means can be used in other connections than with the particular button head shown, as for instance for watch fobs, tie clasps, cuff holders, or the like.

Vhile in the present case I have shown the clasp provided with a button-head, it will be clearly obvious that this buttonhead may be entirely dispensed with.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is- In a clasp, the combination with a U- shaped body portion having in the inner side of one arm acentral longitudinal groove increasing in depth toward the closed end of the body-portion, a U-shaped spring with in said U-shaped body portion, and a slide between said grooved arm and the spring having a protuberance fitting said groove, and held therein by the pressure of said spring, and the said groove in said bodyportion being provided with pockets into which said protuberance is adapted to enter, said pockets also increasing in depth toward the closed end of the body-portion, so as to adapt the gripping action of the springjaws of the U-shaped spring to varying thicknesses of material, and also to prevent slipping of said slide after adjustment.

JACOB EHMANN.

WVitnesses RUssELL M. EVERETT, FRANCES E. BLODGETT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

